diff --git a/ydb/core/kqp/executer_actor/kqp_data_executer.cpp b/ydb/core/kqp/executer_actor/kqp_data_executer.cpp
index eeca1aa36882..0611f423bab9 100644
--- a/ydb/core/kqp/executer_actor/kqp_data_executer.cpp
+++ b/ydb/core/kqp/executer_actor/kqp_data_executer.cpp
@@ -2117,6 +2117,7 @@ class TKqpDataExecuter : public TKqpExecuterBase<TKqpDataExecuter, EExecType::Da
 
             absl::flat_hash_set<ui64> sendingShardsSet;
             absl::flat_hash_set<ui64> receivingShardsSet;
+            ui64 arbiter = 0;
 
             // Gather shards that need to send/receive readsets (shards with effects)
             if (needCommit) {
@@ -2143,6 +2144,48 @@ class TKqpDataExecuter : public TKqpExecuterBase<TKqpDataExecuter, EExecType::Da
                 if (auto tabletIds = Request.TopicOperations.GetReceivingTabletIds()) {
                     receivingShardsSet.insert(tabletIds.begin(), tabletIds.end());
                 }
+
+                // The current value of 5 is arbitrary. Writing to 5 shards in
+                // a single transaction is unusual enough, and having latency
+                // regressions is unlikely. Full mesh readset count grows like
+                // 2n(n-1), and arbiter reduces it to 4(n-1). Here's a readset
+                // count table for various small `n`:
+                //
+                // n = 2: 4 -> 4
+                // n = 3: 12 -> 8
+                // n = 4: 24 -> 12
+                // n = 5: 40 -> 16
+                // n = 6: 60 -> 20
+                // n = 7: 84 -> 24
+                //
+                // The ideal crossover is at n = 4, since the readset count
+                // doesn't change when going from 3 to 4 shards, but the
+                // increase in latency may not really be worth it. With n = 5
+                // the readset count lowers from 24 to 16 readsets when going
+                // from 4 to 5 shards. This makes 5 shards potentially cheaper
+                // than 4 shards when readsets dominate the workload, but at
+                // the price of possible increase in latency. Too many readsets
+                // cause interconnect overload and reduce throughput however,
+                // so we don't want to use a crossover value that is too high.
+                const size_t minArbiterMeshSize = 5; // TODO: make configurable?
+                if (VolatileTx &&
+                    receivingShardsSet.size() >= minArbiterMeshSize &&
+                    AppData()->FeatureFlags.GetEnableVolatileTransactionArbiters())
+                {
+                    std::vector<ui64> candidates;
+                    candidates.reserve(receivingShardsSet.size());
+                    for (ui64 candidate : receivingShardsSet) {
+                        // Note: all receivers are also senders in volatile transactions
+                        if (Y_LIKELY(sendingShardsSet.contains(candidate))) {
+                            candidates.push_back(candidate);
+                        }
+                    }
+                    if (candidates.size() >= minArbiterMeshSize) {
+                        // Select a random arbiter
+                        ui32 index = RandomNumber<ui32>(candidates.size());
+                        arbiter = candidates.at(index);
+                    }
+                }
             }
 
             // Encode sending/receiving shards in tx bodies
@@ -2157,12 +2200,16 @@ class TKqpDataExecuter : public TKqpExecuterBase<TKqpDataExecuter, EExecType::Da
                     shardTx->MutableLocks()->SetOp(NKikimrDataEvents::TKqpLocks::Commit);
                     *shardTx->MutableLocks()->MutableSendingShards() = sendingShards;
                     *shardTx->MutableLocks()->MutableReceivingShards() = receivingShards;
+                    if (arbiter) {
+                        shardTx->MutableLocks()->SetArbiterShard(arbiter);
+                    }
                 }
 
                 for (auto& [_, tx] : topicTxs) {
                     tx.SetOp(NKikimrPQ::TDataTransaction::Commit);
                     *tx.MutableSendingShards() = sendingShards;
                     *tx.MutableReceivingShards() = receivingShards;
+                    YQL_ENSURE(!arbiter);
                 }
             }
         }
diff --git a/ydb/core/protos/feature_flags.proto b/ydb/core/protos/feature_flags.proto
index 30c770825054..538af6a81322 100644
--- a/ydb/core/protos/feature_flags.proto
+++ b/ydb/core/protos/feature_flags.proto
@@ -129,4 +129,7 @@ message TFeatureFlags {
     optional bool EnableAccessServiceBulkAuthorization = 114 [default = false];
     optional bool EnableAddColumsWithDefaults = 115 [ default = false];
     optional bool EnableReplaceIfExistsForExternalEntities = 116 [ default = false];
+    optional bool EnableCMSRequestPriorities = 117 [default = false];
+    optional bool EnableStableNodeNames = 122 [default = false];
+    optional bool EnableVolatileTransactionArbiters = 124 [default = false];
 }